I am curious what music direction Furia followed on this album...

Really enjoyed the last one so excited for this

Sweet cover art.

New LP?

Nice cover. It suggests original music for the genre they belong... I wonder if it actually is?

Wow. Perhaps if I spoke the language this would have more an impact on me, but from the outside looking in this is a really bad album.

Great build-up through and through in this atmospheric and hypnotic experimental rock release. Highly inventive in its sampling concepts and adjusting the mixing and volume as the album progresses.

Written by quieted_darkness on 23.02.2021 at 01:34

Great build-up through and through in this atmospheric and hypnotic experimental rock release. Highly inventive in its sampling concepts and adjusting the mixing and volume as the album progresses.

I thought the album completely fucked up any sense of build up. Any time it felt like it was building up to something it completely dropped the ball. This feels completely worthless to me.

You cannot really treat this album as music. It even says on the Bandcamp page of the album:
?Our goal was something on the border of a radio play / theater of imagination and a music album..." - says Nihil.

I find the album enjoyable when I put my headphones, lay down and imagine the setting - actors wandering through some dark maze, opening various doors and shouting at each other - "Here!" - "Not here, there!" - "We've been here before" - etc. Knowing the language definitely helps. I love the frequent use of "kurwa" - anyone familiar with the Polish meme formats probably will as well.

I suppose that after Blindead's Niewiosna, which was not in a small way influenced by Nihil's imagination, he felt the need to project such experimental tendencies on his own band as well. That being said, I really hope that this is just a temporary experiment which will somehow influence the band's future endeavors in the experimental black metal genre, but not necessarily dictate how their future works will look like. Because I can't really say how many "W Śnialni"s I'd be able to endure before I'd lose my patience with their musical direction. Probably not many.

Written by RaduP on 23.02.2021 at 01:44

Written by quieted_darkness on 23.02.2021 at 01:34

Great build-up through and through in this atmospheric and hypnotic experimental rock release. Highly inventive in its sampling concepts and adjusting the mixing and volume as the album progresses.

I thought the album completely fucked up any sense of build up. Any time it felt like it was building up to something it completely dropped the ball. This feels completely worthless to me.

I agree!

Written by matt4815162342 on 23.02.2021 at 08:56

You cannot really treat this album as music. It even says on the Bandcamp page of the album:
�Our goal was something on the border of a radio play / theater of imagination and a music album..." - says Nihil.

I find the album enjoyable when I put my headphones, lay down and imagine the setting - actors wandering through some dark maze, opening various doors and shouting at each other - "Here!" - "Not here, there!" - "We've been here before" - etc. Knowing the language definitely helps. I love the frequent use of "kurwa" - anyone familiar with the Polish meme formats probably will as well.

I suppose that after Blindead's Niewiosna, which was not in a small way influenced by Nihil's imagination, he felt the need to project such experimental tendencies on his own band as well. That being said, I really hope that this is just a temporary experiment which will somehow influence the band's future endeavors in the experimental black metal genre, but not necessarily dictate how their future works will look like. Because I can't really say how many "W Śnialni"s I'd be able to endure before I'd lose my patience with their musical direction. Probably not many.

Well, this is still music album no matter what musicians says because it contains sounds, right? But this type of "experimental music albums" were recorded long ago in the 50's (of XX century) so there is nothing new under the Sun. Every such attempt has one result: musical failure. There are no harmony, no melodies, no clue, no story which are one of the several main cornerstones and foundations of every true Art. This is something that kindergarten kid can record with even better result. It is not even a "background music" because it is better to listen rain or wind or pink noise...

Heh, it's not bad. Intriguing stuff.

Also holy shit the infamous Pagan Records is still alive.

I want them to do this again and avoid all the obnoxious stuff like production changes etc. Cause there's a really cool album hidden somewhere in here...

Any Musical Drama rec's are kindly appreciated.

One of the few recommendations of recent multitudes of tabs from here and you all I've got that might be worthwhile.

[EDIT} Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make! When your hipster black metal album student art film project goes full circle, pissing off the very same listeners it was intended for instead of the black metallers against it.

I guess changes in production were to warm you, then sampling rallied together with completely different dynamics on a consistent basis might make you need to take a shower. I really admire that they took the risk and yolo'ed here.

Guess this will be my ticket into revisiting to see if any can try and compare to this beast.

I didn't actually hate it, although I've never heard Furia's other work so haven't got grounds to be cheesed off by it. There's definitely sections of it that felt like they could be featured in a really interesting avant-garde metal album (such as the build that runs for a few minutes in the second half of the first track), but overall it's not as satisfying as it could be. The messing around with the audio channels could be an interesting curve ball if done once or twice, but for it to be used so consistently just ruins the flow in a way that doesn't actually benefit the experience, particularly with how sudden the shifts are, rather than them being faded transitions

Despite the harsh comments, there is some potential in it that's being overlooked. True, W śnialni is <removed>simplistic</removed>simple in its musical layer compared to other works of Furia but is great complexity a requirement for companion music to a theatre play?

Funny how quickly the record gets slammed universally for being experimental. This album (EP?) gives rise to a new genre - (literally) theatrical black metal and for that alone it should be given credit. The combination of (post-?)black metal in a theatre play is indeed a new concept.

Experimental records tend to require more spins to get understood. Experimental stuff like this record has (and will) get appreciated more and more (thinking My Dying Bride 34,788%...) but appreciation is not normally granted for such works on the first few listens.

The chief difficulty in getting to appreciate may be the language barrier and perhaps get to grips with the stage dialogues. The spoken pieces range from excerpts from actors performing to stage manager's calling actors to stage as well as more traditional spoken pieces. The riffs are trance-like and some to be honest quite catchy. The bass lines sound vary groovy. Now, how these parts interact is interesting in itself. There is black metal spirit all over this experiment.

Borrowing a riff isn't a crime, there are bands releasing entire albums' worth of recycled riffs. Given the idea for the record diverges from a typical EP, Furia is vindicated in borrowing what they saw fit for a theatre play.

True, publishing it under the Furia monicker is controversial. Heard Lux Occulta's excellent Kołysanki? This is but one parallel to draw in its spoken parts. That record also felt experimental on its release date, unlike the band's earlier output.

It's easier to swallow this record as a way to showcase Nihil's ability to produce music for a theatrical performance (and to interact with the different ways of theatrical expression). Who knows, if it gets the attention of another theatre director like Jan Klata, earning Nihil another successful collaboration (and likewise, all shows sold out)? In that sense, this record is meant for a more professional listener.

I don't think an artist should be slagged off for making a non standard release, especially if it seems rather rough or experimental. In fact, bands do far worse releasing their own stuff on countless special releases, colour vinyls, best ofs or rerecording, all a money grab. W śnialni isn't any of those. Nihil probably appreciates it enough the album will get mixed reviews and likely does not care. Good artists don't (or rather, should not) care about reception, or cater to popular tastes.
Consider this album an honest record and a rare opportunity to capture a performance that only lucky ones enjoyed (performances of Wesele with Furia were known to sell out in a matter of minutes).

My theory around this record is it's probably released out of sheer covid boredom and borne out of why the hell not attitude. <removed>On its merit though, especially long-term low replay factor, I find it difficult to rate the record anything but an average album, subject to change on further listens.</removed>

Addendum: I had to amend the above, as the album carries a much greater concept than can be appreciated on the first couple of listens. I've been pleasantly surprised how good musically, conceptually and lyrically it is. A bit like a puzzle when the pieces start to fit. It's unfair to give it a 6, it's a 7(.5), a very good experimental release here. Well done Nihil!